Finished 1930s Blouse

This ‘1930s Blouse’ is my first competed sewn garment, completed in a couple of afternoons. The pattern is from the book that accompanies the most recent series of The Great British Sewing Bee, which I treated myself to a couple of months ago.I thought the book to be a good source of information on sewing skills and tips for a beginner such as myself as well as being fantastic value for money due to the number of patterns that are included in the accompanying pattern sheets.
24 patterns for everything from pencil skirts to mens trousers through to a beautiful 1960s style coat (my ultimate future goal in buying the book) are included, printed on full size sheets of sturdy paper. The five double-sided sheets patterns are easily traceable due to being printed in different colours for each pattern on a sheet (to make the pieces easily identifiable) and clearly presented in sizes from a UK 8 to 18 for the women’s patterns.
I decided to try the 1030s Blouse pattern which was rated as ‘Tricky’ in the book, because why on earth not? I picked some cute fabric and decided that at the very worst I would lose a couple of metres of material.
I made a couple of modifications to the pattern as written (because I do like to make things more difficult for myself at times). I made the sleeves longer and without the given keyhole detail, so lost a few inches off the width of the sleeves and dropped the width and height of the sleeve cap to give a more subtle puffed sleeve which I thought I would feel a bit more comfortable in when if wearing it to the office.
I also added little contrast cuffs to the sleeves and made the collar in a matching contrast fabric.

The fabric selection suggested in the book called for a fabric with more drape than what I had, but I thought that the 100% cotton fabric would give me a simple fabric to work with and was just too cute with its little multi-directional anchor print to pass up. Plus, Mr Awesome’s grandfather was in the Navy, so it seemed to be quite fitting; much like this blouse. Aye-aye, cap’n!

Congratulations – you did a great job. I must say that I prefer your take on the pattern with the contrasting cuffs and collar – a ‘modern vintage’ style (if there is such a thing). The finer pattern on your fabric shows up the construction details and shape of your blouse a lot better – it is these details that give it flair and interest compared to other designs around at the moment. I am impressed by the setting in of your sleeves. They look tricky to do but give a great tailored look. The style and fabric are cute but the tailoring makes it smart for the office.

I had to laugh that you “had to make it harder for yourself” by modifying parts of the pattern but isn’t that the joy of making your own clothes? If you are going to wear a standard pattern, you might as well buy off the rack. That’s my attitude with crocheting garments (I am planning a cardigan at the moment) but I agree with you that it can complicate matters at times. Even so, the complications lead to greater satisfaction when you end up with a successful finished product. Well done!